Drigg Young Farmers Club (Drigg YFC) pulled the replica, which is modelled on the Great North Air Ambulance Service’s (GNAAS) helicopter, from their village to GNAAS’ base in Langwathby, Penrith on 19 and 20 July.

Over 80 members, the youngest being 11, along with older advisory members and friends of the club helped out, with approximately 75 people pulling and pushing the helicopter over the two days. They were supported by a team of stewards who marshalled the roads and transported the pushing teams to various stages along the route.

The helicopter was made by one of the group’s advisory members who spent around four months transforming a car, using a range of materials and paint, and they affectionately called it Welly the Heli.

The cost to source, transport and transform the car into a replica helicopter was supported by the Fawcett families, Colin W Parker Ltd Haulage, Holt motorcycles and Thomas Graham & Sons.

The route for Welly the Heli started at Drigg Village Hall before going through the local villages of Seascale, Gosforth, Beckermet and St. Bees and then further afield through Whitehaven, Workington, Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith.

When they reached their final destination point at GNAAS’ Cumbria base they celebrated raising more than £30,000, which is enough to fund a full day of operations at the charity.

Sarah Fawcett from Drigg YFC said: “We chose GNAAS as we all have friends or family that have unfortunately had to make use of the service and with it being completely reliant on charitable donations we wanted to give something back to this life-saving, essential service in our local area.

“One of our members was airlifted last year after a horse-riding accident and joined us to push the helicopter.”

In addition to the sponsored push, the young farmers have held several fundraising events throughout the year, including a muck haul, helicopter-themed beetle drive, mother’s day afternoon tea, tractor run, and charity auction.

They’ve also taken Welly the Heli to numerous shows and events in Cumbria, where it was on display for the public.

On Sunday 26 October, the young farmers returned to Langwathby to present GNAAS with a cheque for the final fundraising amount, which was an incredible £100,000.

Mrs Fawcett said: “Our goal at the start of our journey was to fund at least one day’s running costs. When our celebration night on Friday revealed we’d reached £96,410.68, we knew we had to push just a bit further and thanks to our incredible sponsors, we made it to £100,000.”

Deborah Usher, community fundraiser at GNAAS, added: “On behalf of GNAAS I want to say a massive thank you to Drigg YFC for their amazing effort and the amount they have raised is phenomenal.

“What they’ve achieved isn’t just impressive, it’s inspiring. Organising a fundraiser of this size takes time, energy, teamwork, and a big heart and they’ve all shown that in abundance.

“Every pound they’ve raised will help to keep our helicopters flying, our team on standby, and life-saving care reaching people when they need it most.

“Thank you to everyone who took part, donated, organised or simply came along to show their support, you are helping us to bring hope to people on their worst day.”